Freeways in France
The Autoroute system in France consists largely of toll roads, except around large cities and in parts of the north. It is a network of 12,000 km (7,450 miles) worth of motorways. Autoroute destinations are shown in blue, while destinations reached through a combination of autoroutes are shown with an added autoroute logo. Toll autoroutes are signalled with the word péage (toll). Naming and numbering Unlike other highway systems, there is no systematic numbering system, but there is a clustering of Autoroute numbers based on region. A-1, A-3, A-4, A-5, A-6, A-10, A-13, A-14, A-15, A-16 radiate from Paris with A-2, A-11 and A-12 branching from A-1, A-10 and A-13, respectively. A-7 begins in Lyon, where A-6 ends. A-8 and A-9 begin respectively near Aix-en-Provence and Avignon. The 20s are found in northern France. The 30s are found in Eastern France. The 40s are found near the Alps. The 50s are near the French Riviera. The 60s are found in southern France. The 70s are found in the centre of the country. The 80s are found west of Paris. Some of the autoroutes have their own name in addition to a number: for instance, A6 and A7 are autoroute du Soleil (sun motorway), for they lead from northern to southern France and its sunny beach resorts. The A13 is named the autoroute de Normandie as it traverses Normandy. The A29 is part of the route des Estuaires, a chain of motorways crossing the estuaries of the English Channel. Additionally, the A40 is named the autoroute blanche (white motorway) because it is the road that goes to Chamonix and other French winter resort towns, and the A104, one of Paris's beltways, is also known as La Francilienne because it circles the region of Ile-de-France. Safety on French autoroutes France has one of the highest set speed limits for limited access roads in Western Europe: * Under normal conditions - 130 km/h (80 mph) * In rain or wet road conditions - 110 km/h (70 mph) * In heavy fog or snowy/icy conditions - 50 km/h (30 mph) In normal conditions, there is a minimum speed of 80 km/h (50 mph) in the leftmost lane. The autoroutes are designed to increase the safety of drivers; this allows a higher speed limit (130 km/h or 80 mph) than on the normal roads (90 km/h or 55 mph) with an acceptable risk of accident. The safety measures are: * one way driving: the lanes driving in the opposite direction are separated by at least a crash barrier which is designed to resist the oblique impact of a car at up to 180 km/h (110 mph); no intersecting roads but bridges and tunnels; * larger lanes, at least 2 (often 3) lanes driving in the same direction, with a larger turning radius - some recently built autoroutes have one-lane-only sections; * long acceleration and slowing lanes to get in or out of the autoroute without disturbing the traffic; * presence of an additional emergency lane where it is forbidden to drive (except for the emergency services) and to park (except in case of emergency); * presence of emergency call boxes every 2 km (1.2 miles) on each side, that allow to call for help with the possibility to locate the call; some call boxes have flashing light that warn when there is a problem ahead; * presence every 10 km (6 miles) (4-6 minutes of driving) of resting zones (aire de repos, i.e. car parks with public toilets), and every 40 km (25 miles) (20-30 minutes of driving) of a resting zone with a restaurant - on most recently built ''autoroutes these distances are longer''; * regular patrols of the security services, to clear any obstacle and protect drivers in trouble (usually a breakdown or a flat tyre) with appropriate warning signs and beacons; * dynamic information panels which warn about possible difficulties ahead (accident, men at work, traffic jam); * an FM radio station (107.7 MHz) dedicated to information about traffic conditions on most of the network; * on heavy traffic days (e.g. beginning and end of school holidays): organisation of specific information and recreation events at rest areas; * radars automatiques (speed cameras) currently being installed in many locations. Category:Roads in France